US EPA Region 6 and co-host Texas A&M University in Kingsville, in partnership with Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority (AMAFCA), Bernalillo County, South Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA), Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s), and States in Region 6 are sponsoring the 2018 EPA Region 6 Stormwater Conference taking place from August 19 through 23, 2018 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The conference theme is “Our Water, Our Future: Communication, Collaboration, and Adaptive Management for Improved Stormwater Quality.”

DBS&A Hydrogeologist Chad Johannesen, PG, will be presenting on the Implementation of Microbial Source Tracking Program by the City of Albuquerque, and Environmental Scientist Julie Kutz will be presenting on the City of Albuquerque Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) Program.

http://www.dbstephens.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DBSA_Official_Logo-w-Geo-Logic-Co-300x78.png00Shauna Brotzhttp://www.dbstephens.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DBSA_Official_Logo-w-Geo-Logic-Co-300x78.pngShauna Brotz2018-08-09 07:52:442018-08-09 07:54:26Meet DBS&A and GLA at the San Bernardino County Water Conference

DBS&A Principal Hydrogeologist and Engineer, Farag Botros, Ph.D., P.E., will be presenting on Emerging Convergence between the Law and Hydrology of Water Quality and Quantity at a one-day seminar hosted by Law Seminars International in Santa Fe, New Mexico on August 8, 2018. The seminar is entitled New Directions in Hydrology & Water Law. The focus is on emerging trends in the interrelated fields of law and hydrology, including the anti-speculation doctrine, the evolution of the State Engineer impairment assessment, third generation issues following tribal water settlements, and the emerging convergence of water quality and water quantity issues. Learn more about Dr. Botros.

http://www.dbstephens.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DBSA_Official_Logo-w-Geo-Logic-Co-300x78.png00Shauna Brotzhttp://www.dbstephens.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/DBSA_Official_Logo-w-Geo-Logic-Co-300x78.pngShauna Brotz2018-08-06 16:15:462018-08-06 16:15:46DBS&A Presenting on Water Law and Hydrology

The American Ground Water Trust (AGWT) States’ Rights and the Control of Groundwater conference will take place on July 17th and 18th, 2018, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This conference will focus on the legal issues surrounding the control of groundwater in the west, including insights to management and ownership of groundwater on tribal lands.

The AGWT conference will bring together attorneys, federal, tribal and state water resources managers, engineers, scientists, planners, and water end users (utilities, irrigators etc.) to discuss past and current cases, legal challenges, primacy and jurisdictional authority over groundwater management. Presentations will also include the scientific studies and groundwater modeling results that have informed decision-making.

For many states in the western U.S., primacy for administration of groundwater is held by the states. However, recent legal challenges have brought the extent of state control of groundwater into question. Chief amongst these are the Texas v New Mexico case before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Coachella v Agua Caliente case in California. In the case of Texas v New Mexico, one of the issues is groundwater use within the State of New Mexico between the point of delivery under the Rio Grande Compact at Elephant Butte and the Texas state line. In the Coachella v Agua Caliente case in California, the court has backed the Agua Caliente tribe’s claim that it holds a federally granted reserved right to groundwater beneath the tribe’s reservation. Two local water agencies, the Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency, have argued unsuccessfully that the tribe has the same right to use groundwater under state law as other landowners. Recently in New Mexico, the U.S. Forest Service attempted to assert its authority to manage groundwater on its lands, contrary to New Mexico water law. This conference will explore the changing landscape of states’ rights and the administration of groundwater.

At the Annual Conference of the International Network of Environmental Forensics (INEF 2018), DBS&A’s Director of Expert Services and Principal Environmental Scientist, Gregory Schnaar, Ph.D., will be presenting on the Use of Analytical Contaminant Fate and Transport Modeling in Forensic Source Evaluation. Click here to learn more about DBS&A’s environmental litigation and expert services experience and expertise.

#INEF2018 takes place June 25 through 27, 2018 at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. Click here for more information on the event. The INEF was founded in 2008 to provide a forum for scientists, environmental consultants, regulators, and lawyers to share information regarding the use of environmental forensics. Environmental forensics is comprised of three key elements:

Characterization of chemicals released to the environment

Identification of timing and historical context of chemical release

Determination of responsibility for chemical release

​In support of the Student Paper Competition, DBS&A is sponsoring an award prize. INEF has an active student outreach program with the express purpose of encouraging students to pursue studies in environmental forensics.

The American Ground Water Trust (AGWT) will hold its Annual Texas Aquifer Conference on “Everything Aquifers and Groundwater Management” on June 6-7, 2018, in Austin, Texas. The conference is co-sponsored by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB).

DBS&A Founder and Principal Hydrologist, Daniel B. Stephens Ph.D., Ph.G., P.G., is the Keynote Speaker. His presentation is titled “Analysis of the Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Quality Controversy in Pavillion, Wyoming: Applying the Lessons Learned to Oil & Gas Development in Texas.”Click here to read Dr. Stephens’ issue paper on the subject, published by the National Ground Water Association in August 2014.

Hydrologist, Stephanie Moore, P.G., will moderate an afternoon session on groundwater quantity. Hydrogeologist, Andrew Donnelly, P.G., and Geologist, Paul Kirby, P.G., will also be in attendance.

The Texas Aquifer Conference features invited presentations on the legal, policy, management, scientific, and engineering issues relevant to the Texas Groundwater Community. The objective of AGWT conference programs is to showcase groundwater issues and facilitate information sharing among landowners, groundwater end-users, regulators, management agencies, scientists, engineers, lawyers, and citizens who have economic or environmental interests in water resources.

Click here to learn more about DBS&A Water Resources Services. For more information on the conference, click here.

DBS&A Water Resources Planner, Joe LeClaire, Ph.D., will present at a special Water Issues Committee interactive workshop on the effects or water conservation on Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs), hosted by the Southern California Alliance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works (SCAP) on May 31, 2018. The presentation will focus on DBS&A’s study of long-term trends in total dissolved solids (TDS) for the Southern California Salinity Coalition. Click here to read more about the project.

The SCAP is a non-profit corporation organized to help ensure that regulations affecting POTWs and collection systems are reasonable and in the public’s best interest. Its mission is to provide leadership, technical assistance and timely information to promote regulations that focus on the sustainable protection of the environment and public health.

Read about the Assessment, Investigation, and Remediation Services that DBS&A has provided to TCEQ since 2009 here.
For more information on DBS&A’s remediation services, here.
For more information about the conference, here.

Dr. Joe LeClaire will be presenting on the recently released “Southern California Salinity Coalition Study to Evaluate Long-Term Trends and Variations in the Average Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Concentration in Wastewater and Recycled Water” at the WateReuse Inland Empire Chapter meeting on May 8, 2018. Click here to read more about the Study.

The mission of the Inland Empire Chapter of the WateReuse Association is to provide a forum to share information relative to recycled water projects at the local level. To learn more about the Inland Empire Chapter, click here

New Mexico Water, a joint committee of the Rocky Mountain Section of American Water Works Association (RMSAWWA) and Rocky Mountain Water Environment Association (RMWEA), is hosting the 2018 4th Annual New Mexico Water Workshop on April 26 and 27, 2018, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year’s workshop theme is “Emergency Planning and Preparedness: Be Prepared New Mexico.” DBS&A is sponsoring the event, and the firm’s engineers and hydrogeologists will present on important topics, such as: Rehabilitation of Rio Rancho Well No. 3 – Challenges, Hazards and Successes by Hydrogeologist Robert Gray, P.G. City of Albuquerque Microbial Source Tracking Program by Hydrogeologist Chad Johannesen, P.G. Reuse and Recharge Site Selection, Permitting, and Design by Engineering Intern Liie Hill, will present on Reuse and Recharge Project Examples in the Southwest U.S. by Senior Engineer Jennifer Hill, P.E. For more information on DBS&A’s water resources services, click here.Click here for more information on the conference.